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Manel Kape UFC

Manel Kape praised UFC flyweight champion Joshua Van after he knocked out Tatsuro Taira to defend his title in the co-main event of UFC 328.

Van finished Taira in the fifth round of one of the best flyweight fights in MMA history to defend his 125 lbs belt for the first time since he won it last December against Alexandre Pantoja. The fight was extremely exciting, as both men slugged it out for four-plus rounds until Van dropped and finished Taira early in the fifth stanza. The two men were awarded $100,000 bonuses for Fight of the Night for their all-out war.

Manel Kape Praises Joshua Van

Following the fantastic flyweight title fight, one of the division’s top fighters, Kape, took to social media to praise Van for his performance. Kape and Van have had a long-standing rivalry for several years now, and they have talked a lot of smack to each other on social media in an effort to promote a future fight between the two. But Kape, a true veteran of the sport, knew how special Van’s performance was against Taira, and he had nothing but good things to say about his rival.

“Big props to Joshua for the achievement. A lot of people and fighters have been hating on him, and the only answer I can find is jealousy. Many fighters can’t handle the success of others, and that’s exactly why they’ll never truly succeed themselves. The journey started when he took the opportunity after I broke my foot he stepped in and beat (Brandon) Royval. Congrats to the young man. But I’ll see you soon, and I’ll take back what is mine. Not on my time… on Allah’s time,” Kape wrote on X.

Manel Kape is Closing in on a Flyweight Title Shot

Kape returns to the Octagon next month when he headlines UFC Vegas 119 against fellow flyweight contender Kyoji Horiguchi. The winner of this fight will be in a good position to earn themselves a title shot against Van, though the champion will likely draw Pantoja in a rematch for his next bout.

Kape, who joined the UFC in 2021, is 7-3 overall in the UFC with five knockout wins. He has won his last three fights in a row by knockout, and he is very deserving of fighting for the belt. But first, he will have to beat Horiguchi at UFC Vegas 119. This is actually a rematch, as these two first met in Rizin in 2017, with Horiguchi submitting Kape. Nearly a decade later, they will meet each other in the UFC with a title shot potentially on the line.

Should Kape beat Horiguchi, a title shot against Van by the end of the year is a very real possibility. In fact, the sportsbooks opened up future odds for this fight over the weekend. Surprisingly, Kape opened as a -200 favorite over the champion Van, who opened as a +170 underdog in a potential flyweight title fight between these two longtime rivals, who, despite their bad blood, evidently have nothing but respect for each other’s skills inside the cage.